Should I keep the box?

Hi Lissanne,I have a question for your website followers. To keep the TV box or to not keep the TV box, that is the question??? I purchased a digital TV a few years back (so it is out of warranty now for sure) but felt compelled to keep the box for when I move house, but, do people actually put their tv’s back in the box when they move?? My TV is not that big (only a 26 incher) but the box is HUGE! So my question to you and your devotees is, do I really need to keep that box as it sure takes up a lot of space??Thanks.Kaz (a.k.a. LegoLady)

Dear reader, what do you think about this issue? Should LegoLady keep the TV box? What about other product boxes? Boxes for vases, for ornaments, for electrical equipment, glassware, computers etc? Should they stay or should they go? If they stay, should you flatten them? What about the other packing materials, the polystyrene etc? I have my own opinions but I’d love to hear yours!

13 responses to “Should I keep the box?”

In this case, probably better to chuck it. If you move house, the removalists have stuff to protect flat screen tvs so no point. I love to keep boxes to keep everything nice. But the rule of thumb is if you are not likely to ever sell it or store it, the box is just wasting space. I have kept boxes for some baby stuff, like the capsule because it gets used for 6 months then stored for 2 years, and it has bits that need to be kept together and nice. Smaller stuff that belongs with other stuff that came in separate packaging, usually that’s better stored all together in labelled plastic storage tubs. And some boxes are useful because they have detailed instructions printed on them.

If you maybe move around a lot maybe keep them, and also this depends on if you have space to keep them. I have moved every couple of years with my job in recent years and didn’t have a problem finding new boxes to use.

What a co-incidence that this question is being asked. Of late, I feel I have been watching too much TV (even though I do mutli-task TV with PC, TV with housework). This morning 17/2/2014 I packed my TV away in the original box which I am glad I kept when I bought a new digital TV (26 to 28 inches) 12 months ago. I moved 5 months ago so it was good I still had the box and now the box is on the top shelf of my wardrobe (mindful I don’t have big unit). Now new TVs are digital the boxes have become smaller, streamline and more flatpack. I don’t have any other large boxes about. I did not keep any of my moving boxes due to space.

I used to try and keep all the boxes to keep things ‘nice’ but it all just got too hard and I didn’t have the space so I now flatten the box and keep it for about two months to make sure there is no immediate problem with the item and then recycle the box. It is so much nicer to have the space but it is a hard habit to break (the old ‘But what if I need it? Where would I ever get another such perfect box’). Mind you we have not moved in 10 years but I will worry about that if the time comes. Long story short, I would toss the box!

According to a consumer affairs show on tv, even if your item is still under warranty, there is no need to pack it in its original box to return it for repairs – as long as its safe on the journey there, its fine. Removalists supply packing material and boxes. Getting items back in the box that they came out of can be a nightmare in itself. Boxes are useful for putting clutter in, to send to charity, freecycle, friends, garage sales, or generally out the door. Boxes collect dust, no matter where you store them. You can pick up boxes as you need from some supermarkets, fruit and veg markets, and other places, for free – you just have to ask.

I run a playgroup and we LOVE boxes, as do kinders and primary schools. We have a huge box that can be a cave, a tent, a cubby, the children LOVE it! Last year I set out about 50 different sized boxes and it was box city……their imaginations flowed and they worked together creating towers, then fences, then a castle, then a hiding wall, then a shop, it was so wonderful to see what they could do! Oh, and of course painting the boxes is an activity in itself too!!!

I held my breath, gritted my teeth and threw the box out (into the recycling of course and after removing all the packing tape….pedantic or what!). As a (minor) hoarder it really is the thought that stops me from chucking most stuff out – that noisy inner dialogue – what if I need it someday, what else can I use it for (the greenie in me), etc. etc. Now all I need to do is get moving on all the other boxes that seem to have crept in over the years (and years). Thanks for the advice everyone.

In the case of the TV definitely chuck the box, unless you are expecting to move. But, sometimes boxes can be handy to store things neatly. My Mum keeps a couple of her vases in the original boxes, they don’t take up much more room than the vase itself and they store neatly.

Boxes can be an advantage if you want to stack things inside a cupboard – like with the vases, sometimes you’ll be able to use the space more efficiently without fear of items being knocked over. Nice one mum!

If you do need to keep the box because it’s likely you’ll be moving, then do what we do and keep them in the roof cavity, just in reach by the man hole… saving room in other storage areas for things you need to access more often x